Beef stew (Estofado de vacuno)
Four servings: Five-hundred g (1.1 lbs) of beef meat cut into1inch dices; four middle-sized potatoes (1.1 pounds), cut into cubes;
1large carrot cut into not-too-thin slices; 3 ounces of green peas; 1
bay leave; 1 glass of white wine; 1 big-sized onion, cut into
brunoise; 5 medium-sized ripe tomatoes, or 5 tbsp of tomato
purée; 4 tbsp of olive oil, salt, pepper, 3 un-skinned garlic cloves.
Preparation: In the first place, start frying the meat (with no salt
added) in a casserole on a medium fire until it browns. Add the
chopped onions to let them get some brownish color, and add the
tomato together with the garlic cloves and the bay leave.
Stir the ingredients so they don't stick on the casserole surface
(add some water to thin out the mixture) and continue simmering
for a while. Then add the wine, stir it all, and let simmer for a few
minutes; add the water (enriched with a stock cube) to sufficiently
cover all the ingredients, and stew for 70-80 minutes (or use a
pressure cooker for a shorter time). It is important to control the
stew process, and stir the ingredients to avoid they stick to the
bottom of the casserole. Once the meat has been stewed, add the
potatoes (do not lock the PC with the lid), together with some more
water (in the event the preparation looks short of juices ), allow the
recipe stew for some 20 minutes, and serve as usual. In general,
stews are more savory from one day to the other.